Mooen joins the exclusive club of 3000 runs, 200 wickets:
stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=matches;qualmin1=3000;qualmin2=200;qualval1=runs;qualval2=wickets;template=results;type=allround
(Stokes is three wickets short.)
Will be quite entertaining to see how England manage to come out of the first innings with no real advantage, after that.
I was at the cricket yesterday. Have spent most of the day in bed recovering. Stewards chasing the beer cup snake around the stand was most entertaining.
Going tomorrow - looks like it'll be set up quite nicely.
I don't really understand why Australia don't have a spinner.
England were mean to the back up (albeit 9.3 overs for 49 isn't that horrendous), so I guess they thought, only needing a draw, they'd strengthen the batting line-up.
<Dave Rave> It's not like England picked one either <\Dave Rave>
Neither do I. Nor, I think, does anyone other than the Australian selectors.
Lots of talk about the forecast, and it does look terrible. May a brief interlude around midday tomorrow after the passage of one front, but another moves in quickly after. Sunday looks like a damp start followed by showers.
even this afternoon has the chance of showers. Surely ideal condtions to try and get some wickets? Especially if they have to go off for brief rain delays before getting set.
Given this is baz-ball I almost thought we might declare when we were still behind.
Declare when you shouldn't, don't declare when you should. Australia batting for the draw; will there be enough overs available to take the wickets?
Don't have Tests that matter in Manchester is surely the main learning here. The stats on time lost to bad weather must be poor.
Nothing North of the Trent.
There's still a decent chance we can win this despite the weather. This may be obvious to everyone but I had in my head there wasn't going to be a result. But get a couple more wickets today and it's really on.
I hear that there is a trumpet wanker in attendance today. I cannot bear it. I would have to leave. Or ram it up their arse. Sideways.
Why is it just the bowling side that gets penalised for slow overs? The Aussie batters here will be wasting as much time as they can, already been more glove chnaged than surely needed.
